Sewage from Taimoor Nagar drain floods parts of south Delhi’s Maharani Bagh

Taimoor Nagar drain flows through Maharani Bagh before emerging in Taimoor Nagar on its way to the Yamuna

Parts of Maharani Bagh in South East Delhi have been inundated by sewage overflow from the nearby Taimoor Nagar drain with the local residents complaining that stinking drain water is flowing on the colony roads and the central park in the area.

Maharani Bagh is a low-lying area and it is the first one to be impacted if there is any obstruction in Taimoor Nagar drain. (Sanjeev Verma/ HT Photo)

Anuj Kumar Rawla, the joint secretary of the Maharani Bagh society, said the Taimoor Nagar drain which runs near the society is completely choked due to rampant dumping of waste and construction debris, leading it to backflow in the neighbourhood.

“The areas which are low lying have been impacted first but it continues, even more localities would be forced to live in these conditions. Access to homes for senior citizens has been blocked, and we can’t even go to our local park along the Eastern Avenue as it has now been flooded by sewage,” Rawla said.

It said the situation is particularly bad in parts of B and E blocks. It said that around 50-60 homes are currently facing problems as the access road has been flooded with black, stinking sewage water.

Rohit Duggal, treasurer of the RWA who lives in A-block said, stormwater pipelines were being laid by the agencies but due to lack of synchronisation, it is leading to sewage backflow from the drain towards the colony. “Maharani Bagh is a low-lying area and it is the first one to be impacted if there is any obstruction in Taimoor Nagar drain. The pipelines are being laid to solve the problem of flooding in the are during rains, but the agencies need to ensure that waste water should also have enough outlet,” he added.

Duggal said that with the main road being inundated, the area may face a public health crisis in the coming days. “The stench in some parts of colony is unbearable. People are unable to walk even inside their homes. A solution needs to be found immediately,” he said.

Taimoor Nagar drain flows through Maharani Bagh before emerging in Taimoor Nagar on its way to the Yamuna. Rawla said the agencies might be working to clean the nallah and ensure that storm water also drained uninterrupted but it must be done with proper planning.

“The storm water drains are obstructed due to pipeline laying work. As a result, sewage water is flowing through the colony drains from 20, Eastern Avenue to 24, Eastern Avenue as well as Gate No. 3 of Maharani Bagh, the Central Park and several other places,” the RWA said in a statement.

During the monsoon, Taimoor Nagar drain becomes the source of flooding in southeast Delhi, and the lack of a proper outlet combined with heavy rainfall created massive problems in the entire area. All the underground drainage pipelines in the neighbouring colonies end up in what is supposed to be a 20-foot-wide drain abutting Eastern Avenue Road. However, the drain gets progressively narrow, and is reduced to a width of barely 4-5 feet near the slums in Taimoor Nagar due to accumulation of filth and encroachment.

This creates a massive chokepoint, resulting in water flowing back into the colonies from where it originated. Some of these colonies include Friends Colony, Maharani Bagh, and New Friends Colony.

An MCD official said the Delhi Jal Board is responsible for managing sewage lines across Delhi. “Our work is limited to managing storm water drains. Work on repairing the storm water drains will be completed in the next two months. DJB should prevent the sewage flow. We are not responsible for this mess,” the official said.

DJB reaction to come here